The 27 member countries of the European Union have agreed to sanction Iranian officials involved in the repression of demonstrations sparked by the death of Mahsa Amini, AFP learned on Wednesday (October 12th) from diplomatic sources.
The political agreement reached by the ambassadors in Brussels must be confirmed by the EU foreign ministers during their meeting on Monday in Luxembourg, the same sources said.
“We must hold accountable those responsible for repressing women. The time has come to punish them. The shocking violence inflicted on the Iranian people cannot go unaddressed,” European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen tweeted.
The brave Iranian women demand freedom and equality – values that Europe believes in and must speak up for.
The violence must stop. Women must be able to choose.
This shocking violence cannot stay unanswered.
It’s time to sanction those responsible for this repression. pic.twitter.com/o4nKEjkpNT
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) October 12, 2022
Blacklist
MEPs have demanded to be blacklisted by the EU “Iranian officials, including all those associated with the ‘morals police’, proven to be complicit in or responsible for the death of Mahsa Jina Amini and the violence against protesters”.
Persons sanctioned by the EU for human rights violations are banned from EU space, and their assets in member states are frozen.
On April 12, 2011, the EU introduced restrictive measures to sanction serious human rights violations in Iran. Additional measures were added on March 23, 2012, including an embargo on equipment that could be used for internal repression and on equipment that could be used to monitor or intercept Internet and telephone communications over mobile or landline networks. These sanctions are in effect until 2023.